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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. lie — to recline
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. content — happy
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. court — of a king
  7. perch — the fish
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. court — for sport
  10. kid — to tease
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. season — in sport
  14. chip — for betting
  15. kid — child
  16. season — of the year
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. squash — to crush
  22. court — of law
  23. squash — the sport
  24. content — the amount

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com